Favorite Schools

Favorite Teams

NCAA tournament: Syracuse gets manageable draw in South regional

SEC Kentucky Florida Basketball

Florida's forward Will Yeguete (15) Patric Young (4) celebrate after the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Kentucky in the Championship round of the Southeastern Conference men's tournament, Sunday, March 16, 2014, in Atlanta. Florida won 61-60. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

The top overall seed, Florida, headlines a South regional that also includes Syracuse. The bracket, with pods in Buffalo, Orlando, San Diego and St. Louis, will funnel into Memphis for the second weekend of the tournament.

Kansas, which is expected to be without center Joel Embiid for at least the opening weekend of the tournament, was not punished for his absence and landed a No. 2 seed. Pac-12 champ UCLA also popped up in this regional, as did Mountain West winner New Mexico.

FAVORITE

Florida

It has to be the Gators, who haven't lost since early December and have a stellar whole-is-greater-than-the-sum-of-the-parts roster. There aren't many — and maybe not any — teams that are completely trustworthy this season, but Florida is as close to a sure thing to reach the round of 16 that there is.

VULNERABLE FOR AN UPSET

Kansas

How good are the Jayhawks without Embiid? It's a great question. They get a really difficult opening game against Eastern Kentucky, a team that's seeded a line lower than it should be. A possible matchup with New Mexico and its solid roster looms in the round of 32. The transitive property means only so much, but the Lobos twice beat a San Diego State bunch that went to Allen Fieldhouse and won in early January.

DANGEROUS DOUBLE-DIGIT SEED

Stephen F. Austin

The Lumberjacks (31-2) are ruthlessly efficient on offense and haven't lost since November. Granted, they have played very few high-level opponents, but they still waltzed through the Southland Conference with 20 victories and no losses (including the conference tournament). They'll face a fantastic defense in Virginia Commonwealth, a
team that struggles to score in the halfcourt.

BEST ROUND OF 64 GAME

Ohio State-Dayton

A nice in-state bragging rights game. The Buckeyes have looked extremely vulnerable at times, and Dayton is probably underseeded by a line. For those headed to Buffalo, it should be the best game of the quadrupleheader Thursday.

DREAM DRAW

Syracuse

If the shaky version of Ohio State shows up and Syracuse can actually shoot well for a change, it should land in the round of 16. And if Embiid's not back, it makes a matchup with Kansas much more palatable.

NIGHTMARE DRAW

UCLA

Whether it faces Virginia Commonwealth or Stephen F. Austin, the Steve Alford-led Bruins are going to have their hands full in the round of 32. That assumes they get that far; Alford's record in the tournament is spotty at previous stops and facing Tulsa will be no picnic.